Monday, 19 May 2014

The Two Faces of January is an interesting little film written and
directed by Hossein Amini, a man best known for penning the script of Drive. Here Amini delivers another
taught script set in early 1960s Greece. American tour guide and
part time swindler Rydal (Oscar Isaac) gives tours to unsuspecting travellers
in the Greek capital Athens and one day comes across an American couple with
whom he strikes up conversation and a brief friendship. The tour guide is
charmed by the couple and drawn to their wealth and beauty but when it becomes
apparent that the couple aren’t quite as well refined and put together as they
first appear, Rydal helps them to evade those hunting them before becoming
embroiled in their strange and murky circumstances.

There were two things that
attracted me to this movie. The first was the name Amini. I was curious to see
the screenwriter’s directorial debut and was interested in his script. The
second factor was Viggo Mortensen. At this stage in the actor’s career I feel
as though I can pretty much trust that if he’s agreed to be in it, it will be
good enough to see. Mortensen does indeed impress and his choice of role is
once again solid. The movie is about surface and sheen and the attraction that
bright and beautiful things hold while under the surface bubbles something more
sinister. There’s an uneasy feeling which envelops the film and it stabs
through the false surface from time to time in a wonderfully calm but out of
control manner.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Based on Jack Kerouac’s book of the same name, On the Road is a love letter to the Beat
generation of the late 1940’s of which Kerouac himself was a founding member.
The plot follows various road trips and eventful days in the lives of several
young Americans in the late 1940s as they experiment with drugs and sex and
attempt to find meaning in the world and their own lives. The central character
Sal Paradise (based on Kerouac – Sam Riley) is a young writer in need of
inspiration who meets Dean Moriarty, a wild and carefree man for whom everyone
and everything should be explored and or fucked. The two embark on several road
trips and meet some strange and interesting people along the way.

Although I initially liked the look of the trailer for On the Road and was aware of the Kerouac
novel, it was a film I didn’t get around to seeing in the cinema. Now I’ve seen
it I think I made the right choice although overall I’m glad I saw the movie.
The film has a terrific atmosphere of youthful energy, opportunity and freedom
which is expressed through the music, sex and adventure of its young characters
and to be honest I was jealous of their lives. Problems lie in the length of
the movie and slow pacing which doesn’t match the exuberance of the plot. The acting
is also very mixed but following the film I wanted to discover more about the Beat
generation and its characters and beliefs.

Thursday, 21 June 2012

The final part of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy finds Peter
Parker finally enjoying life. Things are going well for him; he’s top of his
class, closer than ever to MJ and still has time to fight crime as Spider-Man.
If anything Peter has become over arrogant with his all round success and this
comes back to bite him when an extra terrestrial parasite which amplifies the
characteristics of its host attaches itself to Peter and turns his Spidey suit
black. Now more cocky and arrogant than ever Peter has little time for MJ and
they drift apart. At the same time an escaped criminal accidentally ends up in
a particle accelerator filled with sand. The sand fuses with his body and turns
him into the Sandman – Spider-Man’s latest nemesis.

This is generally regarded to be the worst of the Raimi
Spider-Man films but personally I’d put it second, slightly ahead of Spider-ManWhile there is an enormous
amount wrong with the film, I actually think that the story is the strongest of
the three. I like how the film looks at Peter Parker’s psychological state and
how the alien parasite is able to effect how and who he is. His relationship
with Mary Jane becomes fractured after ending on a high in Spider-Man 2 and this creates plenty of drama and commotion. Add
this to Harry’s ever growing disdain for Spider-Man and you have the makings of
a decent plot. As a result of focussing more on Parker/Spider-Man’s turmoil,
the villain characters suffer a little and the Sandman’s back-story is only
briefly touched upon. Venom is only really seen in a few scenes as an arrogant
up and comer before becoming a super villain.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Two years after his transformation into Spider-Man, Peter
Parker (Tobey Maguire) is struggling to balance the demands of being a super
hero with a job and studying while these all impact on his personal life. His
secret love Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) is now a big hit on Broadway but after
the open ended conclusion to their relationship at the end of Spider-Man, the two have since drifted
apart. Peter is writing a paper about the scientist Dr. Octavius (Alfred
Molina) and goes to the unveiling of his latest experiment. Things go wrong
though and Octavius becomes attached to four tentacle like instruments and
becomes Dr. Octopus, a villain hell bent on completing his experiments, even if
they destroy the whole city.

If you read my review of Spider-Manthen you’ll be aware of how bitterly disappointed I was with it. Thankfully
Spider-Man 2 lived up to my memory
and if anything exceeded it. The story is focussed on Peter Parker’s split
lives and how he manages to cope with the responsibility of being Spider-Man.
His relationship with Mary Jane is also at the centre and the will they/wont
they or will they/can they nature of their relationship is played out in full.
Peter’s relationship with other characters including his Aunt and friend Harry
are also featured with the later continuing an obvious thread which leads to a
third film.

Monday, 18 June 2012

A geeky high school kid, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is on
a field trip to a genetics laboratory when he is bitten by a genetically
engineered spider. Soon after he feels unwell but wakes up the next morning to
discover that he is feeling better than ever, can see without his glasses and has
new muscle tone in place of his once scrawny physique. Peter also discovers
that his reactions are greatly heightened and that he is stronger and faster
than ever before. After the untimely death of his Uncle, Peter decides to put
his new found attributes to the test and adopts the moniker Spider-Man. This is
just in time it seems as New York City
comes under attack from The Green Goblin and only Spider-Man can stop him.

I saw this film ten years ago when it was first released and
although I’ve never been into Comics, even I knew the Spider-Man origins story
at that time. At the time I remember thinking that it was really good but after
ten years I’ve changed my mind. Perhaps it is because the film has aged, maybe
it’s because I’ve seen it before or maybe it’s just because it doesn’t match
recent Comic book adaptations but this time around I was unimpressed.